Keeping the Chase
by Kailey Hamilton
Summary: He's a Keeper. She's his Chaser. Katie Bell and Oliver Wood don't have much in common, other than Quidditch, courage and their love for each other, but they'll make it through. Collection of drabbles on them, from the moment they met until eternity.
1. Last

_Disclaimer: Recognize it? Not mine._

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**Last.**

In the midst of their spontaneous lovemaking session, she hoped that her tears weren't touching his skin.

"I love you so much, Oliver," she said softly.

"I love you too, Katie," he answered without hesitation.

She couldn't tell him that the charm on her necklace was blazing hot against her naked skin. She couldn't tell him that her enchanted galleon from Dumbledore's Army was beckoning them to fight a war.

_T__his time might be our last_, she thought._ So make it last._

His eyes were shining with oblivious joy.


	2. Home

_Disclaimer: Recognize it? Not mine._

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**Home**

The sun had recently come out from behind the tall mountains that surrounded the castle. Oliver was one of the few that had left the Great Hall and the bittersweet celebrations of the war's end. He had gone to the grounds and helped to put out the fire at the Quidditch pitch. It smelled of death and ashes, and the thought of its destruction was enough to numb his senses.

When the fire was gone, he opted to lie down in the soft grass. He knew there were people he needed to pay his respects to. However, after carrying so many bodies, presenting them to the distraught families, feeling responsible for the pain...

"Here you are." The feminine voice startled him. "I supposed you'd be mourning the Quidditch pitch as much as you're mourning the dead."

Only Katie could cruelly joke at a time like this. He spun around to see her, her clothes half-torn and her left arm covered with bloody bandages. Her face had a hint of a smile, but her teary eyes betrayed her expression.

The sight of her brokenness made his heart ache. He knew Katie had dueled Marcus Flint, who had only left her alone when she rolled down the castle's main staircase. Alicia Spinnet told him this after taking Katie to the Hospital Wing herself...

"Katie, you shouldn't be here."

"Please, let's just go home," she begged, but sat beside him. "I don't want to be here. I can't stand it."

Her sincere, childlike words got him thinking. _Home is where the heart is_, he reflected, and part of his heart was now at Hogwarts.

"This place was home to me for so long," he said. "I feel as if I didn't give it enough of myself."

"You did more than enough!" Katie protested. "You were so brave, Oliver."

"So were you, and so were all those people I brought back..." His voice cracked. "We faced something bigger than we ever thought even existed and I can't-" He wanted to say that he couldn't wrap his head around it but he felt Katie's hand sliding in his, soothing him.

"Stop thinking about it. It's true that Hogwarts _was_ home and our team was like family..." She trailed off. Oliver guessed Fred Weasley had appeared in her mind. "Those good times will never come back," she spoke with resolve. "I learned that lesson when you left Hogwarts, Oliver. We've got to move on."

"I admire your strength, Katie. I'm glad to have you by my side."

She smiled and squeezed his hand, but her smile didn't include her weary eyes.

"I think our job here is done," he observed. "We can keep being heroes tomorrow. Now let's just take you home."

Her sigh of relief worked as a wordless 'thanks,' and he smiled in return. He marveled at the fact that her sole presence calmed him down, even after the hell they'd been through during battle.

Home, Oliver realized, meant having Katie by his side.


	3. Pretty Enough As It Is

_Disclaimer:__ Recognize it? Not mine._

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**Pretty Enough As It Is**

Twelve hours later, that memory alone was enough to make him turn bright red.

Honestly, it wasn't a big deal. He'd done more awkward things in her presence, like accidentally grabbing an out-of-limits part of her anatomy when blindly trying to snatch the Quaffle away from her.

(She'd laughed hysterically while he mumbled an apology, thankful that the twins hadn't been looking. They would've probably spent the rest of practice squeezing his butt.)

Katie would always laugh at him in a harmless way. Maybe that was the reason she'd started to arrive about fifteen minutes late to practices while making up intentionally dumb excuses.

"I couldn't find my broom!" She kept her broom very safe in the locker rooms of the Quidditch pitch - that much he knew.

That wasn't the only pretext she'd used. "My alarm clock broke!" Oliver knew for a fact that Angelina was her alarm clock for morning practices.

Once, she'd showed up to an evening practice with an obviously fake cast on her arm. As if he didn't know Madam Pomfrey could fix broken bones in seconds!

"Katie," he'd said then, "if you want to leave the team, just tell me before I keep wasting my time."

"No, thanks. I'm actually having too much fun." She was beaming and Oliver couldn't understand her reasons.

_She likes you, mate_, George Weasley told him once_. She's like the little boy pulling the little girl's braids because he doesn't know how else to get her attention._

Oh, she did get his attention. In fact, she was becoming increasingly difficult to handle. Why did he let her get away with it?

That particular morning, Katie had showed up to practice ten minutes late.

"I'm sorry, Oliver. I needed my beauty rest!"

Katie didn't care about her looks _that_ much. Her hair was always unruly at dawn practices and she kept quiet when Alicia and Angelina discussed make-up.

For all response, he tried to give a bitter laugh. It came off as a snort.

"What, you don't believe me? You can ask Leanne. I even slept with cucumber slices on my eyes and yogurt on my face. Did you know muggle girls do that?"

"Why would they?" Katie should know - she was a proud muggleborn. Why was he even showing interest? Damn her for getting him sidetracked. But, but... yogurt and cucumber slices?

"Yogurt hydrates the skin and cucumbers get rid of the dark circles I get around my eyes because morning practices make me lose sleep._"_ He knew she wasn't too serious, but her accusing tone made him realize that he'd had enough.

"Your skin is soft, your eyes are flawless and you're pretty enough as it is. Do you expect me to believe you were having a_ beauty rest_, Katie?"

Yes. He'd said that. Twelve hours later, in the relative safety of the Common Room, he was still blushing.

Katie had only stared at him half-shocked, half-amused, as everyone else in the team laughed uncontrollably. He'd had to endure the twins calling him 'pretty' at practice and asking him if he wanted cucumbers and yogurt for breakfast

He hadn't seen them all day after that. Twelve hours later, Katie was doing homework nearby. Whenever he lifted his gaze from his strategy parchments, he was forced to relive the moment.

After a few minutes of this, their eyes met. He turned his face away as if they burned. What was wrong with him?

She must've taken the eye contact as an invitation, for no more than ten seconds later, he heard her voice next to him.

"O Captain! My Captain!" That nickname was a reference to muggle poetry, or so she'd said. He was certain she didn't even like poetry, but just thought that line made for a funny nickname.

"Hey, Katie. What's up?" He knew he was opening Pandora's box. Well, anything better than an awkward silence.

"Nothing much. I'm done with homework and I'm almost ready to go to bed. We don't have morning practice tomorrow, right? This time I can get my beauty rest in peace!" She finished with a giggle. Her words made him wonder.

"Wait. Did you actually do that thing with cucumbers and yogurt?"

"Don't be gullible, Oliver! I _am_ pretty enough as it is."

As if he hadn't blushed enough, he felt his cheeks going red. Oliver normally kept it professional with his teammates, and he'd broken a personal rule by calling her pretty.

"I'm sorry, I just-"

"Are you apologizing for paying me a compliment?" In spite of his embarrassment, he smiled.

"It was out of place for me to do it. You're my teammate and..."

"No one ever calls me pretty, so it made my day. I would be terribly sad if you took it back."

"Really?"

"Oliver, girls love being called pretty!"

"No, I mean..." he realized, too late, what he was about to say. But he had to go on, choosing his words carefully. "Guys like you." Or he could just blurt something moronic like that.

_And_ this_ is why you don't have a girlfriend,_ he heard Fred Weasley's voice in his mind.

"Well, it would be really cool if they said it to my face," she said sharply. He suddenly got the feeling that something had gone wrong.

"I guess."

She said nothing to his coy response. After a few seconds of silence, she stood up and left without saying goodnight.

Oliver was confused, for she was normally quite easygoing. She had been happy two minutes earlier. Why was she acting like that?

_She likes you, mate._

Was that really an explanation? Was she expecting an 'I like you' instead of 'guys like you'? Was that it? He liked her, in a way, but he was three years older than her _and_ her Captain!

Oliver was so irritated, he almost missed the twins calling at him from the other end of the Common Room.

"O Captain! My Captain! You look like you need a beauty rest!"

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_Notes:__ For Shot Put - Round 3, in the HPFC forums. I wanted to keep the serious tone from the previous two entries, but as soon as I read the optional prompt for the week, I knew this had to be written._

_Thanks for reading!_

_-Karyn._


	4. Katie Logic

_Disclaimer:__ Recognize it? Not mine._

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**Katie Logic**

"I'll never forget the first morning we woke up together," Katie whispered in his ear. "You had to go to work, but you stayed in bed with me just a little bit longer than you should have. You held me and kissed me like this..." She hugged him more tightly and showered kisses on his bare shoulders, making him smile."...even though you didn't realize I was awake."

Oliver never imagined that midnight would become his favorite moment of the day. He thought his dream job would be a priority, but nothing was better than being in bed with his girlfriend. Some nights they made love. Some nights they fell asleep right away. Some nights, like that one, they cuddled, laughed and reminisced.

"You mention that memory a lot," he observed.

"It's one of my favorite memories of us," she answered simply. "What is yours?"

"Oh wow." He frowned and tried to think. He always felt under the spotlight with such direct questions, as if she was testing him. "I really can't choose _one_."

"I can't either, but I bet you could name a few."

"A few? I'll come up with too many. Can I think about it, at least?"

"We have all night."

She pressed her face against his chest and closed her eyes. He was sure she'd fall asleep, so he took his time to go over the events of the day instead.

It was May 2nd, the second anniversary of Voldemort's downfall. It was a holiday - everyone took the day off to celebrate, attend or host events. He'd been thinking of proposing that day, but he chose to delay it to a more romantic and joyful date.

It had been a bittersweet day indeed. George Weasley was waiting for news of the birth of his first nephew or niece. To placate his anxiety, his fiancée chose to play host, and that's how the old Gryffindor Quidditch team had reunited for the first time after the Hogwarts Battle. Fred Weasley's absence was painfully obvious, but they'd managed to have a merry afternoon.

That was until Gabrielle Delacour had popped out of the chimney uninvited, making Angelina frown in disapproval.

"It's a girl, George!" Gabrielle announced merrily. "I just came to tell you."

"Fancy a Butterbeer?" He asked. Oliver suspected that George liked Gabrielle infinitely more than he liked her sister.

"Not really. My sister wants me by her side. I just thought you'd like to be the first one to know!" She turned around. As she walked away, her Veela magic seemed to go off and he couldn't help but stare at her flawless figure, her long hair...

"GEORGE WEASLEY!" Angelina's voice broke the spell. "Were you staring at her ass? Merlin, could she be more of a gossip? Does she have to go around, breaking hearts and spreading news...?"

As Angelina kept her furious monologue going, Oliver's eyes went over Ginny Weasley, who looked at Harry in quiet disapproval and Alicia, who was single and amused by the scene. He finally turned around to see Katie watching him intently, with a hint of a smile in her face.

"I'm sorry," he'd muttered. "I-I didn't..."

"She's gorgeous," Katie said, rolling her eyes. "Frankly, I would think you're gay if you didn't at least look."

Hours later, Oliver smiled as her voice echoed in his mind. She was what he'd been searching for all his life, not because she didn't mind that he looked at other girls, but because her attitude was product of intelligence, simplicity, trust and love. Such a way of thinking was something rare. Oliver couldn't have been more proud of the fact that Katie belonged to him.

Her thought process was so special to him that he'd given it a name: Katie Logic.

Katie Logic was based in her astonishing honesty, and the fact that she didn't expect Oliver to think that she was the most perfect girl in the world. Oliver used to think that she was too insecure, until he realized that she simply loved herself enough to openly accept her own flaws. She understood that Oliver didn't love her any less because of them.

(Sure, she wasn't the most perfect girl in the world, but she was the most perfect _for him_. As far as he was concerned, Katie Bell was the very best.)

Katie Logic was responsible of many of his favorite Katie-related memories. It had been on display since the day he met her, when he had been fifteen and in search for a third Chaser to add to his team.

Back then, Oliver had thought that Katie was too short, too giggly, and that she'd be prone to getting off-track. She had proven to be the only decent flier in the tryouts though, so he chose her and asked everyone else to leave so he could privately assess her skills.

"That was fantastic," he'd said when they were finally alone. "Some issues need to be fixed, but I have a good feeling about you. I'll make you the very best Chaser. You'll see."

The grinning girl raised an eyebrow, throwing her broom over her shoulder. She looked tired, but happy.

"You won't 'make' me the best, Captain," she assured him. "But I'm sure you can help."

Oliver knew right then that she was _something_. He liked her way before it was right for him to do so. It took him five years to ask her out. He did it when she was hospitalized in St. Mungo's, having realized that he could've lost her forever.

It had been three years since then, and he couldn't wait to make her his fiancée. He couldn't wait to give her the best marriage proposal he could think of.

He couldn't wait to be with her for the rest of their lives.

"Oliver," she brought him back to the present with her sleepy voice. "Have you thought of something?"

"I was thinking of the day I met you," he answered sincerely.

"That was fun indeed. But I thought you were going to go with the day I first told you that I love you."

"To be honest, I hadn't thought of that. But I agree that it's a better one. I'm still thankful that you were so nice when I freaked out..."

Her giggle broke the quiet of the night. Oliver caressed her back softly, reveling in her joy.

"I knew you loved me then, even when you couldn't bring yourself to say it."

"And you were right." He kissed her forehead as a sign of gratefulness. Katie raised her chin to met his lips with hers. The kiss was brief, but very intense.

"I'm going to go even further," she said after catching her breath, "and add that you loved me even before I loved you."

"Right again," he conceded. "I think... I think I've loved you forever, Katie. And that will never change."

"I love you too, Oliver. I always will."

They kissed again, letting silence set in. He was happy to go to sleep on that note... until Katie Logic made itself present.

"I'm glad we cleared that up. Now, are we engaged or what?"

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_Notes:__ I don't think I've ever written such a fluffy piece about them. For Shot-Put - Final round, and the All the Pairings Challenge._

_Thanks for reading!_

_-Karyn._


	5. Smile

_Disclaimer: Recognize it? Not mine._

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**Smile**

When he sees her again, she's no longer that girl who used to laugh and fly and make him feel like she was the only thing that mattered in the world.

She's a woman, an eighteen-year-old woman, with eyes hard as ice and a smile that wouldn't reach them. He's terrified, but he's relieved, and as he sits beside her hospital bed, he can tell that his presence is very welcome.

"I'm glad you're here," she says.

But he doesn't know what to say in return, because he's glad to see her, just not like _that. _Her lips are pale blue and she shivers. He wonders if she's in pain.

"Are you alright?" he asks.

"No, not really." She doesn't lie, but her tone is contrastingly unaffected. "I'm alive. It's all that matters. Healers say that the worst is over and that I'm getting through this."

He doesn't push it because he understands that he doesn't want to talk about it.

Neither does he. He said it quite well - she's alive, and that's all that matters. And he could've lost her without letting her know...

"How are you, Oliver? How's Puddlemere treating you?" She interrupts his thoughts. It amazes him that she's interested in his life when hers had been in danger so recently.

"It's all good," he says. "I'm alive as well, but that isn't so surprising."

He's honest, but she seems to find him funny so she laughs. It's a brief laugh, he thinks, but it's something.

It's melodious and encouraging.

"Katie, I know this is... out of place," he starts saying, and since he has her attention, he feels forced to continue. "But I was wondering if you... if you wanted to go get some coffee, sometime... well, when you're out of here..."

She looks surprised, but not at all offended.

"Alright," she says.

He smiles, and this time, the smile does reach her eyes.


End file.
